Whither the Economist in Public Life?

Public Policy & Economic Literacy

This year’s Freedom to Choose (FTC) conference is the fifteenth in a sequence of annual one day conferences devoted to exploring the effectiveness of free-market policies. FTC is supported by the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation and hosted by the University of Notre Dame Australia.

The FTC conference series places free-market ideas in their historical context and highlights the important role economists play in policy formation. The theme of FTC 2025 is “Whither the Economist in Public Life? Public Policy & Economic Literacy”. The keynote speaker for this year’s conference is Michael Stutchbury (Centre for Independent Studies; past Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Financial Review). Other speakers include Gigi Foster (University of New South Wales) and Michael Brennan (e61 Institute; past Chair of the Productivity Commission).

Economics is of fundamental importance to modern life. Indeed, economic terms such as inflation, productivity, and unemployment currently seem to abound in popular discourse. The influence that economic phenomena, both microeconomic and macroeconomic, has on one’s material wellbeing and happiness is central to understanding our own financial wellbeing and the choices before our community.

Against this backdrop, however, is a noticeable deficiency of economic literacy among the general population and a scarcity of economic expertise. There is a sustained trend towards fewer students enrolling in economics, both at high school and university, and fewer schools and universities offering economics as a subject. There is also a worrying trend towards public policy formation either rejecting economic expertise or accepting it only as a last resort. One recent example will suffice: prominent economists who drew on key economic concepts, such as opportunity costs and unintended consequences, to criticise various policy responses to Covid were sidelined. Real negative consequences for individuals and society of declining economic literacy and expertise are now increasingly becoming evident.

FTC 2025 will engage critically with a range of ideas concerning economic literacy and the role that economists should play in policy formation. FTC is designed primarily for the benefit of undergraduate, honours, and postgraduate students, but all interested parties are welcome to attend.

Registration: Please register your attendance via businessconferences@nd.edu.au. (Please include “FTC 2025 Registration” in the subject line.)

Website: https://events.nd.edu.au/freedom-to-choose/